Faced With Ulrich Challenge, Addabbo Starts Fundraising (Updated)

A reader forwarded this invite to an upcoming fundraiser for Sen. Joe Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who, as of last week, is facing a spirited challenge from NYC Councilman Eric Ulrich, a GOP rising star.

When Ulrich announced his intention to run against Addabbo, it was widely noted that the senator had just $1,685.07 in his campaign account as of mid-January. DSCC spokesman Josh Scherwin said Addabbo would have the resources necessary to fight to maintain his seat, but the Democrats don’t have much in the way of resources to spread around. (In fact, they’re still in debt to the tune of $1.5 million.

Ulrich has an estimated balance of $14,669 in his NYC campaign account, according to the CFB. The city contribution limits are far lower than the state legislative limits, but I’m not sure how much of that cash he can/will transfer into a new account.

Ulrich’s decision to run surprised a number of observers, including yours truly, because up to the last minute, he was widely believed to be leaning against it.

But, as he noted during a CapTon interview on the day of his annoucnement, Ulrich has little to lose here – other than the $30,000 salary difference between a Council and Senate seat and the time he’ll spend commuting to Albany if he wins – since he’s not up for re-election until 2013.

The Addabbo event is being held on May 23 at RW Prime at the Resorts World Casino NYC. (The invite notes that Addabbo sits on the Racing and Wagering Committee). Tickets range from $500 to $2,500. (I tried to upload this rightside up, but for some reason couldn’t figure out how to do that. Blogger fail. Sorry).

UPDATE: Thanks to an intervention by Azi Paybarah, the invite is now right side up.